PITTSBURGH — The WPIAL is littered with basketball players that will go on to play at the next level. Seton LaSalle is home to one of those players and his name is Connor Spratt. The senior guard has a massive following on the platform TikTok, amassing over 200,000 followers. In addition to being “TikTok famous,” Spratt was a member of Kevin Durant’s AAU squad Team Durant and is currently one of few WPIAL athletes with a NIL deal.
After transferring to Seton LaSalle for his junior season, he helped lead the Rebels to a section title and a top seed in the WPIAL playoffs but was ruled ineligible for the postseason due to the PIAA transfer rules. As a result, the Rebels were beaten in the first round and saw their season come to a sudden halt.
To begin his senior season, a hand injury caused Spratt to miss multiple games and the Rebels struggled in his absence. At the time of his return, the Rebels were 1-2 in section play, and 2-7 overall.
The first matchup between Seton LaSalle and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart took place on Jan. 13 and OLSH dominated the matchup, winning by 28 points.
Tuesday night, the Rebels flipped the script and secured the victory over OLSH in overtime 66-58.
“Fresh start, the score is 0-0 at the start. We came in with a little bit of a different defensive scheme and we were looking to make the possessions a [bit] longer. More passes, more ball movement, and make [OLSH] play more on the defensive end,” said Spratt about the adjustments made since the first meeting.
The Rebels jumped out to a 12-10 lead after the first quarter as Hayden Merchant hit a pair of 3-pointers.
The second quarter opened with an 11-2 run by the Chargers. The Rebels answered back with a 7-0 run of their own to regain the lead before halftime.
The second half was a battle between Spratt and the Chargers’ Rocco Spadafora and Rocco Coladonato. The duo of Spadafora and Colandonato combined for 22 points in the half but were shut out in the overtime period.
Spratt scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half and overtime, including four 3-pointers. Spratt had a chance to win the game in regulation but missed the potential game-winner as time expired.
In overtime, Seton LaSalle’s Ian March hit a pair of field goals and Spratt added another three to help the Rebels pull away.
“Credit to the coaches for keeping me in there mentally. Probably one of my worst halves of the year and then one of my better ones in the second half when we needed it the most,” said Spratt.
Aside from Spratt’s game-high 23 points, March added 16 points for the Rebels. Merchant also finished in double digits for the Rebels with 14 points.
“I love when our other guys get going. It just fuels our whole team; it gets our energy going. Hayden hit a [few] huge middies down the stretch. Cole [Starrett] with the corner three, that was super hype in the fourth quarter,” said Spratt. “I love seeing my guys score because it takes some of the pressure off of me [because] there is more for the other team to worry about. Then, we can just all eat.”
OLSH is not an easy opponent to win against, and for over two seasons, there was not a team that could claim a victory over them. The Chargers are coming off of an era of dominance in which they set the state record with a 74-game winning streak and claimed two state championships in the process.
Spadafora led the Chargers in scoring with a team-high 21 points. Coladonato added another 18 points in the losing effort.
The Rebels have one remaining conference game before the WPIAL playoffs begin and are hitting their stride at the perfect time.
“We want to be playing our best basketball in February and into March and we [are peaking] at the right time,” said Spratt.
Many college programs such as Navy, Davidson, and Slippery Rock have expressed interest, but Spratt has yet to receive an official offer, at least publicly. In one of Spratt’s most recent TikToks, the video ends with him hinting at a possible first offer.
